Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Sells 25,867 Shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its position in shares of New Jersey Resources Co. (NYSE:NJR) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 396,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,867 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.39% of New Jersey Resources worth $18,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in New Jersey Resources by 3,076.5% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 321,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,990,000 after buying an additional 311,216 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of New Jersey Resources by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $680,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in New Jersey Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $1,885,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in New Jersey Resources by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

New Jersey Resources Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NJR opened at $47.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.34. New Jersey Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $40.62 and a 52-week high of $51.95.

New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.15. New Jersey Resources had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 18.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that New Jersey Resources Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

New Jersey Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. New Jersey Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.22%.

Insider Activity at New Jersey Resources

In related news, CFO Roberto Bel sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.58, for a total value of $113,968.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,822 shares in the company, valued at $1,157,272.76. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NJR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on New Jersey Resources from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Guggenheim upped their price target on New Jersey Resources from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised New Jersey Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of New Jersey Resources from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

New Jersey Resources Profile

New Jersey Resources Corporation, an energy services holding company, distributes natural gas. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Distribution, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Services, and Storage and Transportation. The Natural Gas Distribution segment offers regulated natural gas utility services to approximately 576,000 customers in Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, and Sussex counties in New Jersey; provides capacity and storage management services; and participates in the off-system sales and capacity release markets.